


Sinner, Sinner

by witchhour



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, Friends to Lovers, Homophobic Language, Injury, M/M, Murder Mystery, Period-Typical Homophobia, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, The Author Regrets Everything, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:28:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22579372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchhour/pseuds/witchhour
Summary: It's the dead of winter at Maine's most illustrious boarding school when Bill Denbrough goes missing without a trace. Eddie Kaspbrak is desperate to bring his friend home safely, but the investigation into his disappearance goes awry when a body is uncovered on campus. Thrust into a case and a web of lies he never intended on unraveling, Eddie quickly learns that everyone has their secrets. The Losers Club just happens to have more than most.
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	Sinner, Sinner

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU. There is no curse, no sewers filled with bodies, and no child-eating clown. The only evil that lurks is within the people themselves.
> 
> Please be aware that this story contains mature themes and additional tags will be added as the plot progresses. Enjoy.

December 12th, 1992

11:55 PM.

If there was one thing that Eddie Kaspbrak had learned in his sixteen years of living, it was that parties were not his area of expertise.

He leaned stiffly against a wall in the crowded room, hunched over and swirling cheap beer around the rim of his solo cup. Occasionally he’d take a gagging sip from it, wait for the bitterness to subside, and then drink some more. He had never been able to hold his alcohol, but the vile taste was easier to tolerate than his boredom.

“Eddie, y-you okay?”

Over the nauseating pounding of pop music, Eddie could just barely hear Bill’s voice when he turned to see that his friend had joined him in his corner. He had been gone for the past few minutes, floating around the room and awkwardly socializing with cliques that towered over him in social status. In hindsight, he should have asked why Bill dragged him there in the first place. It wasn’t their typical idea of a good time.

Roosevelt Secondary Academy partied long and hard, a stark contrast to the prestigious front the parents of its students believed. Usually, the two of them would stay cooped up in their room during the weekends to play a game of poker or finish homework. It was pleasant, and quiet, and very similar to how they would spend their time together back in middle school during sleepovers. Being enrolled at the same boarding school and being assigned as each other’s roommates was proof that they were always meant to be friends.

Eddie nodded, reaching up to tug on the neckline of his green sweater as he glanced around the common room of the boys’ dormitory. A Christmas tree sat squarely next to the fireplace, adorned with golden tinsel and shiny round ornaments. Even the mounted moose head above the mantle had a Santa hat slung over one antler, its beady marble eyes full of shame. Eddie was almost jealous. He figured he’d rather be decapitated and stuffed than be forced to fend for himself at a party. _Lucky moose._

“Are you sure? We can leave if you want. It’s g-getting late, anyway,” Bill prodded, scratching the back of his neck. “P-Plus, I know drinking makes you sick, so...”

He knew Bill was not intending to make him sound weak. They had spoken many times about how his mother was always itching to diagnose him with some ailment to keep him in line. Ever since he found out his medications were fake, he had distanced himself from her as much as he could. He still called her once a week and would send a letter from time to time, but he always stayed at the school during holiday breaks. He loved her, and he always would, but he could not stomach being around her for too long after everything she had done.

At the insinuation of being too delicate for a party, Eddie squared his shoulders with a frown. “Seriously? I’m fine,” he mumbled, realizing how defensive he sounded only after the words left his mouth. “Since when do we hang out at things like this anyway?”

Bill leaned in close lest his voice be drowned by the party’s noise. It was then that Eddie noticed how buzzed he was, his face flushed pink from whatever he had been drinking and strands of dark hair falling over his forehead. “We g-gotta experience boarding school life, right? No p-parents, no rules. I thought it would be nice to do something different for once,” he joked with a shrug. Eddie opened his mouth to object, but Bill continued. “I’m g-gonna drop my coat off in our room, b-b-but I’ll be back. Don’t wait up for me, okay?”

The hair on the back of Eddie’s neck prickled at the idea of being left alone, but before he could plead him to stay, Bill was already disappearing into the sea of partygoers with a wobbly smile, swaying as he walked. Keeping him pinned down was futile. With a sigh, Eddie waved him off with a forced grin. “Hurry, please,” he mumbled, though his words fell on deaf ears. It was not until Bill was fully out of sight that he shrunk back into his corner, anxiously checking the time on his watch.

The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow, and he found himself tapping his foot to whatever was playing on the radio, taking another sip of beer as he watched the crowds mix and mingle. A few drunk girls belted out lyrics nearby, and part of him wanted to throw caution to the wind and join them.

After all, Bill was right. High school, especially at a school as nice as this, only came once. It was in his best interest to loosen up.

From across the room, he felt the squeamish sensation of someone staring him down, and he lifted his head to catch the pointed gaze of Henry Bowers. His bully was propped up against a doorframe, his black jacket and boots still slick with fresh snow from outside. Eddie stiffened up in discomfort as Henry grabbed a glass bottle from a nearby cooler, pried the cap off with his teeth, and spat it to the floor with a wry smile. The cap rolled for a moment before being firmly crushed under his heel and Eddie averted his gaze with a startle. He didn’t want to warrant any black eyes or busted lips.

After middle school had ended, Eddie had held on to the hope that he would be able to escape the Bowers Gang’s wrath by enrolling at Roosevelt. Little did he know that Henry’s police chief father had pulled some strings and had him transferred over to the academy that same year. To say that Eddie was mortified upon seeing him again was an understatement.

“Hey there, shortcake!” 

Pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar voice, Eddie glanced up to see that a freckled face and a wide grin had replaced Henry’s sneer. Beverly stood with her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised. _Leave it to her,_ Eddie thought, _to swoop in and save me. Perfect timing, too._

“Bev. Thank god you’re here,” Eddie said nervously, releasing a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. The last time they had talked had been around the beginning of the year, when his locker had jammed and she had gladly picked it open for him with a bobby pin. “I’m all alone, and this music’s making my ears bleed, and I didn’t sign up for any of this to begin with…” he rambled, gesturing wildly. “It’s total bullshit.”

Beverly laughed, her rosy cheeks glowing under the light of the common room’s crystal chandelier. “Take a breath. That’s why I came over,” she said, tucking a short strand of ginger hair behind her ear. “I wanted to ask why you’re here and not hiding out in your dorm. Didn’t peg Dr. K as the partying type.”

Eddie rolled his eyes at the use of his old nickname. “You and me both,” he muttered, hesitantly peeking over Beverly’s shoulder to see if Henry was still on the prowl. Thankfully, he was gone. Eddie supposed he had slunk off to terrorize someone else. “Bill dragged me here, got drunk, and then left me,” he said flatly. “He should be back any second, though.”

“Wow. That’s new,” Beverly said, eyes widening slightly. “I wonder if Richie’s been rubbing off on him.”

Beverly’s words caught Eddie by surprise. He hadn’t heard that name in a while. In fact, he had barely seen Richie at all. School had caused all of the Losers to drift apart into new groups and clubs, and Richie had gone with them. By the middle of their ninth grade year, the time they spent together had dwindled down to a quick greeting in the hallways every now and then. They had gone from being conjoined at the hip to being strangers in a matter of months. For the longest time, Eddie had wondered if it had been his fault. He had spent sleepless nights overanalyzing every insult and sarcastic comment he had made, searching his mind for an explanation. In the end, he had chalked it up to bitter circumstance. It was not the first time someone had ghosted him, and he doubted that it would be the last.

While he missed Richie more than he wanted to admit, he was not the only friend that he had lost contact with. Occasionally he’d see Stan perusing the maze-like bookshelves in the library, but he mainly kept to himself. Mike had stayed back in Derry to continue his homeschooling and tend to the farm, and Ben’s parents hadn’t been able to afford Roosevelt’s outlandish tuition. Instead, he attended Derry High.

“Oh. Is he here?” Eddie blurted out.

Beverly laughed again, looking awfully amused, though Eddie wasn’t sure why. “He was. He’s off getting more wine at that gas station down the way,” she said, looking down to admire the light pink polish on her nails. “I spotted him cash for some cabernet.”

Eddie blinked, dumbfounded. “But...he’s like, sixteen,” he said. “How’s he getting it?”

“Fake ID and an idiot cashier, apparently. I keep telling him he’ll get caught eventually, but he doesn’t listen,” she said flippantly, shrugging. “I’m not complaining, though. Booze is booze.”

Eddie pressed his lips together into a tight frown, furrowing his brows. It definitely sounded like the type of trouble that Richie would get himself into, and in a perfect world, Eddie supposed he’d be by his side while he did it. He could practically imagine him at the counter with a bottle of wine in his hands, standing tall and clenching his jaw to pass as an adult. He had always looked older for his age, with his untamable mess of curls and charisma that someone twice his age would normally possess.

Beverly cleared her throat, and Eddie snapped back to reality, dazed. “Great. Tell him I said hello when he gets escorted back to campus by a cop,” he scoffed, biting the inside of his cheek. “What a dumbass.”

“You can tell him yourself when you see in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Eddie snorted, waiting for Beverly to crack a joke. Instead, he was met with her blank stare, and he did a double take. “Wait, what?”

Beverly took a moment before answering, reaching into the pocket of her distressed jeans to pull out a single cigarette. She didn’t light it, but still stuck it between her lips, and Eddie figured it was for his own sake. She must have remembered how much he hated the smell of smoke. “I thought I’d get the gang together for a little reunion, just for kicks,” she said, pulling the cig away. “It’s been way too long.”

Eddie’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest. Finally, he’d be able to have his fix of nostalgia. Even if it was only for an hour, he could pretend that everything was the same as it was three years ago.

Before he could say another word, a pretty girl skipped over to grab Beverly’s hand, a bounce in her step. “Bev, I need a partner in beer pong and you’ve got great aim. Help me out here!” she squealed, and tugged for her to follow. Eddie recognized her immediately from English, though he could not place her name. _Was it_ _Kate? Kathy? Kacey?_

“Kay! I was wondering when you were going to turn up,” Beverly shouted excitedly, offering Eddie an apologetic smile. “I’m going to play a few rounds, but I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, jabbing a finger in Eddie’s direction as she was dragged away. “Ten o’clock, at the science wing stairwell. Don’t be late! And bring Bill with you!”

Eddie had forgotten all about his roommate. As Beverly disappeared from view, he rolled up the sleeve of his sweater to glance at his watch, only for him to have a visceral reaction to the time. A staggering forty-five minutes had passed. Shaking his head in disbelief, he set his cup down on a table before storming away, shouldering his way out of the masses. Wherever Bill had ended up, he could keep partying on his own. The only thing that Eddie was concerned about was washing the taste of flat beer off his tongue.

As he stalked out of the common room and into the dormitory corridors, he slowed his pace to a shuffle, having finally fled from the mayhem. He had hoped that escaping the noise would help clear his thoughts, but it hadn’t eased his headache in the slightest. His anger combined with his exhaustion was making his eyes blur and throb.

Sluggishly, he made his way to the floor’s bathrooms, letting the door slam behind him as he pushed his way inside. If anyone was occupying the stalls, he didn’t notice or care. He needed a moment, and everything else could wait, as far as he was concerned. He gripped the edges of one of the sinks, tapping his fingers methodically against the porcelain, and examined his reflection in the mirror. Messy hair. Tired eyes.

Just as he reached down to turn the faucet on, the door opened behind him, and footsteps clumsily staggered in. Eddie almost had the nerve to tell whoever it was to find somewhere else to puke, but held his tongue. Instead, he turned to look over his shoulder, and his face instantly fell.

Stanley stood just feet away, blood dripping from his nose and mouth onto the white tile floors. He stumbled forward, coughing and gasping for air as though he couldn’t breathe at all. Eddie watched him look up, and though his gaze was hazy, he could spot a spark of recognition, like a light in a cloud of fog.

“Eddie?” he choked out, blood trickling down his chin and Adam’s apple.

“Stan?” Eddie sputtered. “Holy shit. What happened to you?”

Stanley pushed his back against one of the walls before sliding down until he was sitting. “Fell,” he croaked, putting a hand to his mouth to feel the extent of his injuries. He was missing a front tooth.

Eddie immediately fell to his knees, trying to ignore the fact that the ground was covered with a layer of grime. He would desperately need a shower after this. He unzipped the fanny pack on his hip and reached inside before pulling out a small handful of gauze. It wouldn’t be enough to completely staunch the bleeding, but it would certainly help. Carefully, he pressed it to Stan’s nose, tilting his head so that he could get a better look at his injuries. “Your face is fucked,” he muttered, forehead creased in worry. “It looks like you bit down on your tongue when it happened. You might need stitches.”

“I know,” Stan said, looking down to fidget with his fingers. Blood and grit had worked its way under his nails.

“And you said you…you fell?”

Stan nodded weakly. “The dorm steps were icy. I slipped and ate concrete.”

It certainly explained the melted snow in his hair and on his wool coat. With blood-soaked gauze in his hands, Eddie stood up. “Okay. I’m getting my first aid kit, and then I’m taking you to the nurse. I need to call this one in,” he said, moving towards the door.

“No, no, wait,” Stan said quickly, grabbing Eddie’s ankle and forcing him to stop in his tracks. “It’s nothing, really. I can handle it,” he assured, wiping his swollen lips on the back of his sleeve.

Wrenching his leg free, Eddie shook his head. “You’ve lost your mind. Wait here, okay?”

Stanley ignored him. Using the last of his strength, he stood up, gripping the edge of the sink with white knuckles. “I’m fine,” he said with a sniff, limping towards the door. “Thanks for helping me. I’m going to bed now.” Despite Eddie’s protests, he left without another word, slipping out of the bathroom and into the dark halls, leaving Eddie standing in his wake.

Out of the hundreds of people at Roosevelt Academy, Eddie hadn’t expected bumping into Stan when he had, especially not in his current condition. His injuries were severe, even for what Eddie had seen. He must have fallen hard.

Hanging his head in resignation, Eddie looked down at the gauze he was still holding, and realized that Stan’s blood had leaked onto the cuffs of his sweater. He grimaced, quickly rolling it up to his forearms and tossing the soaked cotton into the trash. Stan was a friend, but who knew what blood borne illnesses he was harboring.

He headed back up to his dorm, not entirely shocked to see that it was untouched from when he and Bill had left. The bed was still unmade, the pillows wrinkled from that same morning. A cold cup of coffee sat on Bill’s nightstand, along with a massive pile of leather-bound books. Stepping over and around his mess, Eddie traipsed over to their window that overlooked the school grounds below. It had begun to snow again, a fresh powdering covering the campus in a crisp, new blanket.

Tomorrow, he decided, he would tear Bill a new one the moment he woke up. And when he was done, the two of them would walk to the science wing, and everything would continue as planned. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Eddie exhaled deeply before turning on his heel and flicking on his bedside lamp. “Tomorrow,” he uttered under his breath, Bill’s words still ringing loud in his ears.


End file.
